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Howell says county government lets commissioners act faster than state legislature; cites Boys Ranch closure as reason he ran
Summary
Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell said his experience in the Kansas House and the 2012 closure of a juvenile program motivated him to run for county office and that county government can implement changes more quickly than the state legislature, which he described as slower and more constrained by law and earmarked funding.
Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell said he ran for public office after becoming frustrated with how the state and the county handled a juvenile program and that the county commission’s smaller size and authority let elected officials implement changes more quickly than the state legislature.
Howell, who served two terms in the Kansas House, described the moment that galvanized him to pursue county office: a South Central delegation meeting in 2012 when he said a local official warned the county might have to close a youth program he called the Boys Ranch. “I thought, well, I’ll take this as a mandate,” Howell said, recalling a…
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